Editor's note: This piece was published before it was announced on Monday night that Wayne Rooney will be dropped to the bench for the match against Slovenia.
It is a recurring theme for managers. They name Wayne Rooney captain, seem to guarantee him a place in the side and are surprised how quickly the situation unravels.
Then their every decision is subjected to greater scrutiny. Evidence of character, independence and a willingness to create a meritocracy is demanded. Rooney represents the issue that refuses to go away. His divisiveness has become a constant.
Jose Mourinho lasted five league games and six weeks of competitive football at Manchester United before dropping Rooney. The honeymoon periods for England managers tend to be shorter. Sam Allardyce’s solitary game was notable for his post-match interview after the 1-0 win over Slovakia where he declared it was not for him to tell Rooney where to play. Rooney subsequently rebutted that by saying he merely followed orders.
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Gareth Southgate’s bow had not even finished when Rooney was booed, not so much for a misdirected cross as for the growing perception that he does not deserve his place in the team and benefits from preferential treatment.
Southgate was taken aback — Rooney, after all, is England’s most capped outfield player and their record scorer — and he argued the veteran had played well but that is another recurring theme. Managers are increasingly at odds with the growing perception of Rooney. Until they drop him, that is.
Caretaker managers have a natural tendency towards cautiousness. Without a mandate, few rock the boat. The temptation is to class the diplomatic, mild-mannered Southgate as a typically uncontroversial interim choice. Yet events may force him to become the reluctant revolutionary. Southgate’s best chance to secure a permanent contract as manager comes as England approach what could be their toughest remaining game en route to Russia.
They face Slovenia on Tuesday night with Rooney clinging on to his place. Daniel Sturridge drew mixed reviews on Saturday, but at least showed a striker’s predatory instinct to score the first goal of Southgate’s reign in the 2-0 win over Malta. Dele Alli emphasised that he is the most dynamic No 10 by adding the second.
Rooney, meanwhile, was in the deep-lying role where he appears to think his future lies. Yet wherever he materialises, alternatives can appear more enticing. Southgate’s reasoning in benching Eric Dier on Saturday was understandable: the Tottenham man was held in reserve on his return from a hamstring injury and in the knowledge that Slovenia represented the tougher test.
Dier was England’s best player in Euro 2016, Jordan Henderson their finest against Malta. The Liverpool captain has often been a scapegoat, with some wondering what precisely it is he does, but he is in form for his club and played a part in both goals. He offered more incision and drive from the base of the midfield than Rooney, who continued to spread harmless diagonal balls in the manner of a man who thinks that by doing so, he is impersonating Paul Scholes.
And so Southgate, only the second England manager to select a former teammate, faces a decision that may define his short time in charge and determine if it is extended. It may set the direction of England’s future. Yet, actually, it may not matter too much in World Cup qualification.
Everyone else in Group B is taking points off each other. Slovenia are symptom and cause, going 2-0 down to Lithuania before recovering to draw and then beating the pool’s second seeds, Slovakia, on Saturday.
Should the rest continue to squabble among themselves, it could all smooth England’s passage to Russia.
But Southgate cannot bank on that. Victory would be an endorsement of him, and at a point when it would be especially timely. He must work out if selecting Rooney will help or hamper his cause.
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